Guest Speaker

Historian Leonard Janiszewski and documentary photographer Effy Alexakis have been researching the historical and contemporary Greek-Australian presence, both within Australia and overseas, since 1982. Their ongoing project, In Their Own Image: Greek-Australians, is recognised as one of the largest collections of Greek-Australian material in the country. The archive encompasses a wealth of visual images, recorded interviews, paper-based textual documents and memorabilia. It is currently housed at Macquarie University, Sydney, in partnership with the Australian History Museum and Discipline of Modern History. Over 160 academic and popular journal articles, book chapters, conference papers and catalogues have been produced, as well as two major books and three film documentaries. Both national and international touring exhibitions have been created – the latest being Selling and American Dream: Australia’s Greek Café, that opened at the National Museum of Australia in 2008, and is still touring. Janiszewski and Alexakis have received numerous grants. The most significant have been from the Australia Council, Visions of Australia, Film Australia, the Greek government, and various Australian state funding bodies. In 2001 Janiszewski was awarded the NSW History Fellowship to research the Greek café. Janiszewski’s presentation arises from that research, which is ongoing. Both Janiszewski and Alexakis have served on history and/or arts advisory boards.

Shakin’ the World Over: The Greek Australian Milk Bar

Would you believe that milkshakes were originally a health food? Their ingredients included fruit, cream, butter, eggs, chocolate, honey, caramel, malt, yeast – and rum – but no ice cream or artificial flavours were added.

Milkshakes were popularised through milk bars. And you might be surprised to learn that milk bars originated in Sydney in 1932 as the brainchild of a Greek known as Mick Adams (Joachim Tavlaridis) – not in the United States as many people believe.

When Adam’s milk bar, the Black and White, opened it attracted over 27,000 customers in the first week alone! Traffic had to be halted in the then non-pedestrian Martin Place.

Leonard Janiszewski reveals how Adams’ refreshment revolution quickly became an Australian – and international – food-catering icon.